ABC's of starting a vegetable garden

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), Newstimes

Published 1:00 am, Thursday, April 9, 2009

Chris Minor's Bethel vegetable garden, down a few steps from his back door, awaits the warmth of mid-April to be planted with lettuce, beets, cabbage and peas. Perennial rhubarb and strawberries are already present.

He's not alone in his efforts: This year 43 million Americans will grow some or all of their vegetables. Why? Here's a few reasons: (1) The eat-locally movement is surging. (2) Families are more and more interested in the safety of what they eat. (3) The faltering economy. And then there's the (4) simple, creative pleasure of a plot-to-table dinner. No wonder even the White House is planting a garden!

Here are some of Minor's tips on how to get started in vegetable gardening:

First, grab a book on vegetable gardening such as
Dick Raymond
's "Joy of Gardening." Then select a site with at least six hours of sun. Fewer hours won't be enough.

Prepare the bed. Start small the first year; you can always expand. (Minor's bed is 30 feet by 50 feet, but he didn't start out that big.) Remove the sod and put it in the compost pile, then rent a tiller and turn over your patch.

Rake the now-fluffy soil level. Make paths, add a scattering of granular fertilizer as indicated and purchase transplants/seedlings at local nurseries such as Halas' Farm Market in Danbury, or Hollandia in Bethel.

Now, if the weather cooperates, you're ready to plant! Each year has its vagaries, however, so check the forecast before you begin. Mother Nature doesn't always get the memo about when warm weather starts or frost ends.

Maintain. This mostly means weeding, watering and watching. Whether on your hands and knees, with a hoe, or by employing the resident reluctant teenager, weeding must be done, or your potential harvest will be lost to vegetative interlopers.

Access to water is a must. This year has started with a 5-inch rain deficit, so keep a full watering can handy, and a hose curled nearby. Your garden needs an inch of water a week, and again, Mother Nature doesn't always come through.

Watch for insects and disease. Minor hasn't had many problems in this department during the 12 years he's gardened in Bethel, (most likely due to liberal compost applications), but he keeps an eye out for slugs, tomato leaf wilt and cabbage loopers.

At the end of the season, compost vegetative remains and till again.

Only one thing I would add to Minor's suggestions. For a beginner, it's a good idea to obtain a soil sample analysis so you know what your new garden needs in the way of nutrients. Contact the Connecticut Cooperative Extension at soiltest@uconn.edu for further information. For your garden to feed you, you must first determine what food your soil might need.

Minor's garden, surrounded by blueberry bushes, clematis and hydrangea, is a delight to the eye as well as the palate. Your garden can be, too. What are you waiting for?

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Colleen Plimpton has cultivated her sloping acre in Bethel for 17 years. A lifelong gardener, she trained at the New York Botanical Garden, and is a garden coach, horticultural educator and lecturer, as well as a garden writer. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, and her first book, "Mentors in the Garden of Life," is due out this summer. Contact Colleen at colleenplimpton@yahoo.com, or follow her blog at
www.colleenplimpton.blogspot.com
.